| |
|
LEN_VERSION31's Recent Blog Entries
|
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
I have been pushing my workouts since I got the go-ahead from my previous physiotherapist in March. After a plateau for more than 3 months, I began to see positive movements losing a little over 5 lbs and some inches since March. Then I got stuck again  I know...not a lot of time to officially declare a plateau but I am going to!
In January, when I got frustrated with not losing weight, I went to a nutritionist and found out I was not eating enough...yup...that's right. Based on the amount of exercise that I was doing, I was eating too little. So she went through my meal plan and gave me the same calorie range like I got from SparkPeople when I started to actively use the site in February.
Now that I analyze the move in my weight in March to now...I realize I have gone right back to where I started. As my back got stronger, I started increasing my workouts but my calorie intake remained the same. At one point, SP changed my range higher...I didn't even realize then it went back after that...confused much??? In addition, on the days I was doing strength training, I was still doing other workouts for more than a hour. Based on how my body was feeling, I started to realize something was wrong and started to read, consult with my beachbody 'coaches', and my Sparkfriends LAMOURA and NATPLUMMER. The general consensus, I need to revise my workouts.
This means that I will have to retire from Slim in 6 for now and focus on my main programme ChaLEAN Extreme. On strength training days, I will only do cardio 20 - 30 minutes. On alternate days, I will break free but still keep workouts within 60 - 90 minutes. I will focus on Turbo Jam and Zumba for extra cardio. Did you know that too much cardio can affect the success of your strength training programme? Seriously! I feel like at the end of this journey, I will just get a degree in fitness  I am learning so much especially since I am on SparkPeople! 
Here are some of the articles from spark that helped me to make this decision:
www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_th
e_experts.asp?q=69
www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness
_articles.asp?id=508
The last article was particularly interesting as I had 4 of the common symptoms of overtraining ...who would have thunk it!! Insomnia is my big problem..I have not been getting enough sleep...longest sleep in the last couple of weeks is probably 5!!!!
So I may not meet my 2,500 minutes goal for the month, or maybe I can...we will see. I will do weekly assessments to see if this was the reason for my plateau...and of course share with everyone...I am skurreed!!! (At the same time, I wonder how there are persons doing 5000 minutes a month....guess they just eat more...you go!!)
By the way, my chest and shoulders are still sore from Lean Circuit 3 which I did yesterday...it hurts to lift my arm to put on deodorant!! 
Monday, May 02, 2011
After reading Chalene's story, I realized so many of us can relate and it is encouraging to hear that we are not alone in our frustration and how we can help ourselves during our downtime. I had a back injury and could not work out for at least 2 months...it was crazeeee! I kept worrying about putting back on the weight that I had worked so hard to lose...enjoy Chalene's blog
Chalene Johnson's blog - The Mental Effects of an Exercise-Limiting Injury
Frustrated, depressed, angry, sad, envious, embarrassed, and weak. Admittedly, 99% of the time I’m a very positive, happy, see-the-bright-side kind of person. Yet, I would be a phony if I didn’t admit that I have had all of these feelings at one point or another following a few recent injuries.
It’s been a great, but simultaneously physically challenging year! As I always say, “God is fair.”
I finished Turbo Fire this year completely injury-free! I worked with a massage therapist, a kinesiologist, and my orthopedic surgeon on a plan of injury prevention! It worked! I was diligent about my rest, cross training, and workload. I got regular massages, ate like an athlete training for an Olympic event, and listened to my body. As a result, despite filming eight hours of intense workouts for several weeks, and months of testing and developing the workouts, I delivered some of my best work; and I did so feeling like a million bucks and in the best shape of my life.
Then came snowboarding season. A rather innocuous fall onto a tree that was so small that it probably should have been classified as a bush, resulted in a broken rib. After a few weeks, my pain seemed to be worsening and one side of my rib cage seemed puffy and swollen. An ultrasound revealed a bruised liver, which had resulted in a capsule of fluid around it. Apparently this is common in blunt force injuries to the abdomen.
Six weeks off. No Turbo or Hustle. Deep breaths. Force a smile. Get a better attitude and come up with a plan. Fine. I can do this.
I moved many filming and choreography deadlines around. As soon as I was able, I rode the recumbent bike everyday. I recovered just in time to be able to teach a few workouts at the Team Beachbody Coaches Summit 2010. My injuries were healed, but it had been weeks since I had been able to train in the way in which I was accustomed. I went from being in the best shape of my life, to feeling weak, out of shape, and frustrated! It wasn’t just missing the workouts that was making me feel down. It was also attributable to missing my classes, coupled with the disruption to my daily routine of seeing my favorite students. I didn’t feel like myself mentally or physically. I wanted to explain to everyone why I wasn’t myself, but I hate excuses and besides, this was pretty minor compared to the things that many other people had to deal with. Don’t be a baby.
Based on my crazy filming and appearance schedule, earlier in the year (when I was healthy), I had scheduled to finally address a surgical matter (it’s a female thing). That surgery was scheduled for the week after the Summit. That meant another four weeks of no-impact exercise. No classes. Back to the bike. Grrr!
Chin up! Get over it! Bad timing, but I had put it off for so many years that I just had to realize that there was never going to be a “good time”.
Another four weeks off. This time, I followed a strict diet. You have to understand, I went into exercise to AVOID dieting. I don’t like “diets”. Instead, I think you need a “diet” that you can live with. Being 5’2’’ and eliminating all Turbo, Hustle, stadium stairs, running, lifting, and all my other favorite activities meant that I was burning about 600 fewer calories per day. Umm hello! That’s a LOT of food!
I followed a very strict diet; I carefully reduced my calorie intake and eliminated 600 calories that I would normally have been able to eat. Somehow, I was able to lose a few of the pounds that I had gained during my first injury, and four weeks later, I was able to start exercising again. I was back within my normal weight range, but feeling very weak, soft, and mushy. Nonetheless, I attacked that week of training like a starving dog attacking a bowl of food! There was no coming back slowly. I was so excited!
I was happy again! I was me! I was back to all my classes and all my favorite smiling friends! I was a renewed, happy, positive woman with boundless energy and optimism. Two weeks of regular training and we were off to Northern Michigan for the 4th of July holiday.
It was July 2nd. My sister, Jenelle Summers; my best friend, Monica Gray; and their families had joined my husband, Bret, and our families at my parents’ home on Hubbard Lake. The three girls decided to take a “wild” ride on the three-man tube.
It was wild all right. The next thing I remember we were all floating in the water and I couldn’t breathe. During the crash, I remember feeling like I had been shot out of a cannon. My head whipped front to back. I hit the water face first with my feet flying over my head in a hyper-extended back bend at the rib cage. I was gasping for air as I floated in the water. I couldn’t even look up to see what condition Jenelle and Monica were in. I could feel my arms tingling. I assumed that I had broken my back. I quickly regained my breath and realized that I could move my arms and legs. Still, something just “wasn’t right”.
Off to the ER, which was 45 minutes away. In the end, Jenelle had a bruised rib and Monica had a bruised thigh. Me? A concussion, whiplash, a cervical neck strain, and four broken ribs. Hi.
Oh and I’d picked the middle seat because I’d assumed that it would have been the safest spot. Ummm…not!
Another four weeks off. In total, this is more than 12 weeks in six months of restricted exercise and I’m a fitness professional. Frustrated? Yes. Mad at myself? Beyond.
It’s a minor adversity by comparison. In fact, I feel ashamed for feeling even a tiny bit of self-pity. I can move my arms. I have my legs. I have my health. I can eat. I have my family. I have everything. Stop being a baby! Perspective. Move on.
Nonetheless, injuries in fitness enthusiasts can be a serious issue.
I recognize that I have been given this experience to teach others how to better cope. Injury often brings on a wide range of emotions for athletes, fitness professionals, and fitness fanatics — from frustration to depression.
Everyone who participates in sports or exercise on a regular basis has had to deal with injury. The more entwined your sport or exercise is with your “identity”, the more difficult it is to deal with “rest”.
By nature, athletes and fitness fanatics have an extremely high tolerance for pain and, at times, tend to view injuries as a normal part of their training regimen. I receive dozens of inquiries each week about how to cope with an injury. I know how “terrified” someone can feel if (s)he has used exercise to lose weight and reach his/her goals, only to suffer an exercise-limiting injury. I have learned first hand this year that a temporary injury is perhaps more emotional than physical.
So take a deep breath and regroup. Let me set this straight for you.
The good news: 80% or more of your physical result is achieved with diet. This means that I can control the greatest majority of my current situation. It means that I have to adhere to strict calorie counting, and a diet which takes into consideration my lower level of activity by consuming minimal carbs, healthy fats, and nutrient-dense food choices. There is no room for processed foods or extra calories. The good news is that when you experience an injury, or even a life U-turn that makes exercise impossible for a short period of time, there’s no need to worry. Your diet now becomes more important.
Even better news: Unless you are on strict bed rest, you can find some form of exercise. So, for me, I will return to cycling, lower body strength training, and power walking as soon as I can tolerate minimal arm swing. Be creative! Can you swim? Have you tried biking? Walking? Rowing? The stair climber? How about just lifting for your upper body or just the lower body? Have one injured leg? The other three limbs are working! Be creative! Don’t give up your strength regimen if at all possible!
Your weight does not define you!
Most important is our mental health. I once said in a lecture, “If you don’t have your health, you have nothing.” Afterward, a woman approached me and asked if I would reconsider that comment. She shared with me how her formerly fit husband was dying from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (abbreviated ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Due to the deterioration of his physical health, he had become a mere shell of the man he once was. She reminded me that his physical health was long gone, but that his spirit continued to be full and he had continued to touch the lives of everyone around him. Your health is very important; but it’s only one component of who you are and has little to do with your importance.
I’m reminded that I am not defined by my body fat, or how intense my workouts were this week. The self-worth that I feel is the result of doing for others, helping. This is a good reminder to me that my identity is not attached to a workout. Even if tomorrow I lost my physical health permanently, my life’s purpose is to help others to live full lives. I’m a pusher. I push people to do more! I push people to see what they are capable of doing to improve their marriage, their friendships, their self-worth, their business, their life, and to feel the confidence that emerges when you do that for yourself and help others in the process.
You’re a fitness fanatic. If you haven’t already, you are likely to experience a setback in your training or your regular routine. How you deal with it, your attitude to the situation, is 100% within your control. Feeling sorry for yourself or expecting the worst is simply a habit, a habit that can be broken. Practice developing a positive attitude. The setback won’t last forever, and to give up and do nothing is to be a quitter, a whiner, a pessimist. Winning is a habit. So develop a new plan. Define yourself by what you do for others, and not by the number on the scale and I promise your major setback will become minor and happiness will be yours to have.
Taken from https://www.turbokick.com/wblog/?p=1
130
First Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Last Page
|
|
Get An Email Alert Each Time LEN_VERSION31 Posts
|
|
I was able to get in my workouts and ended the month with 2307 fitness minutes. 
Member Comments About This Blog Post:
I'm ready!!!
